Speed bumps and similar devices have long been used by highway and road designers and engineers to control the speed of vehicles along the road. These devices have also found use in driveways and parking lots and in other places where vehicle speed must be controlled.
Frequently speed bumps are formed on location from paving material such as blacktop or bituminous. This method, however, requires lengthy disruptions of the normal traffic flow. Moreover, on-site formation of speed bumps is imprecise; the height and width of the devices--which are directly related to the maximum speed with which vehicles can pass over the devices--cannot easily be controlled.
Rumble strips, multiple narrow raised pavement sections arranged perpendicular to the flow of traffic, have been used by highway designers and engineers as a means of warning vehicle operators of upcoming hazards or obstacles such as sharp curves and toll booths. As with speed bumps, warning strips are typically formed in place from pavement material. Prior art warning strips therefore have the same deficiencies as the prior art speed bumps: lengthy disruptions of normal traffic flow and imprecision in size and shape.
It is therefore one object of this invention to provide a prefabricated pavement device which can be applied to highways or parking lots quickly and easily with minimal disruption of traffic.
It is another object of this invention to provide speed bumps, warning strips and pavement devices in relatively precise predetermined shapes and sizes for accuracy in traffic control.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for making prefabricated pavement devices in relatively precise predetermined shapes and sizes.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for making prefabricated pavement devices in relatively precise predetermined shapes and sizes.